Taking a look back at seven days of news and headlines across the world of Android, this week’s Android Circuit includes all the details of the Galaxy, more details on the release date, secrets of the Samsung Browser, Nokia avoids the flagship fight, why color is the next mobile battle, the exclusive OnePlus 3T, a long-term review of the LG G6, and Google’s new Family Link software.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many things that have happened around Android in the last week (and you can find the weekly Apple news digest here).
Everything You’ll Love About The Galaxy S8
Are you ready for the big checklist of exciting things in the Galaxy S8? Forbes contributor Gordon Kelly has the list, he’s checked it twice and Samsung is ready to go to town with the 2017 flagship, as well as the overall numbers:
In addition, [industry analyst[ Kuo expects a 6:4 shipment split in favour of the Galaxy S8 with 40-45 million handsets sold during 2017. This is slightly lower than the 52M Galaxy S7 units shipped in 2016, but Kuo says this is no reason for Samsung to be disappointed. Instead he points out Galaxy S7 shipments were unusually high due to the recalled Galaxy Note 7 which pushed potential Note customers back to this handset.
Galaxy S8 Street Dates
The next big moment in the smartphone story of 2017 will be the launch and release of the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus handsets by Samsung. With a media event on March 29, the focus turns to the timing of the retail release in April. TechRadar has more on the diary management:
Samsung’s teased the Galaxy S8 on video, and now it’s started putting up print adverts in parts of Asia, giving us clues as to when we might be able to buy it. One of the posters, spotted by leaker @UniverseIce, contains the a reference to April 2017, and as the Samsung Galaxy S8 is being announced on March 29 that means April is presumably when it will hit stores.
…The poster doesn’t really show anything else new, but it once again highlights the edge-to-edge screen, and with a big ‘S’ in the middle there’s no doubt that this is an advert for the Samsung Galaxy S8.
The accepted wisdom now is that pre-orders will begin by April 10th, with the first handsets physically released on April 21st.
Samsung Galaxy Browser - version 4 (Image: Ewan Spence)
Secrets Of The S8 Browser
Why does Samsung have its own web browser development program? With the latest version now in public beta and expected to be in the Galaxy S8 firmware, I’ve taken a look at the new technology inside the standards-compliant browser from South Korea, from content blocking to progressive web apps and mobile payments:
Users may not initially spot the payment services the ability to add a content blocker or the wide range of supported W3C standards. But with the new browser likely to feature on the Galaxy S8 firmware, they will spot the impact of ambient and progressive web apps.
Developers working with these tools can do far more than just "show a web page." Progressive web apps are hybrids of regular web pages and mobile applications. You get all the benefits of a website and an app in one, so details can be saved between sessions, notifications can be sent and received, you can save it to the home screen as an app launcher, you can work with the aforementioned payment services, and much more.
Nokia Goes For The Middle
Nokia’s triumvirate of Android handsets announced last month at MWC left a rather large gap at the top of the portfolio for a ‘monster’ flagship with the SnapDragon 835. Many thought that this would be the Nokia 8. Reports are now coming in that the Nokia 8 (and the smaller Nokia 7) are looking at the SnapDragon 660 chips, pegging them as big-performing mid-range devices.
From a practical point of view not having a "monster spec" handset in the product mix during the first year is a valid strategy. HMD Global inherited the Nokia feature phone business late last year and now holds up to ninety percent market share in some significant territories. The easier goal is to move these consumers towards the lower-priced Android handsets (and if they’re not quite ready, the returning Nokia 3310 should keep them in the family for another year or two). Why would you push hard to fight the likes of Samsung and Apple in the $1,000 handset market when you have an eager, excited and much larger audience waiting at $150?